Franklin Loufrani
Franklin Loufrani (born 25 October 1942 in Algiers, Algeria) is the president of Smiley, the company that owns the trademark and copyrights for the Smiley logo and name in numerous countries.[1]
Career
Loufrani has worked in journalism and licensing for more than five decades. His career began in 1960 as a reporter for France Soir and as a creative for the Masius-Landa advertising agency. In 1969 he founded Hachette’s licensing department in France, managing rights for Babar the Elephant and other characters from their publications.[2]
In 1972, Loufrani became the first person to register the Smiley face as a trademark. He used it to mark positive news items in France Soir, naming the design “Smiley” and licensing it through his company Knowledge Management International (KIM).[3]
In 1973 he became CEO of Junior Productions, the licensing agency for Marvel Comics, Hanna-Barbera and other major US brands, as well as Japanese properties such as Goldorak and Prince Saphir.[4]
He went on to found Télé-Junior S.A. in 1977 and launched various licensed publications. In 1980 he served as Secretary General of the National Syndicate of Specialist Periodicals and founded the Junior d’aujourd’hui division of Femmes d’Aujourd’hui. He later acquired all rights to Télé-Junior under his own Junior Productions company.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Loufrani continued to develop Smiley as an international licensing brand. In 1996 his son Nicolas joined him in London to co-found the Smiley licensing company and consolidate all existing rights to the logo.[5]
Creation of the Smiley Brand
In early 1971, while working at France Soir, Loufrani was challenged to brighten the paper’s pages. He designed a simple smiling face to highlight good news.[6] He registered the logo as a trademark in France on 1 October 1971 across multiple categories, and on 1 January 1972 rolled out the “Take time to smile” campaign in France Soir, marking the first dated public claim of intellectual property rights for the Smiley logo.[7]
SmileyWorld Foundation
In 2005, Loufrani and his son founded the SmileyWorld Association, a charitable organisation that directs part of the brand’s licensing revenues to social projects worldwide.
References
- ↑ Copia archivada, Capital, accessed 12 November 2015.
- ↑ Copia archivada, Licensing.biz, accessed 12 November 2015.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedLSA - ↑ Copia archivada, Licensing.biz, accessed 12 November 2015.